Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion Archive [2012]

[Sigfried1977]

I still don't see the point in comparing the two Witcher II versions unless you free the PC version from the shackles of console resolutions. DF even mentioned it in the article: the art in TW2 was created with much bigger resolutions in mind than 720p, and the post processing AA solution yields far more pleasing results at higher resolutions as well.

 

[Reiko]

I still don't see the point in comparing the two Witcher II versions unless you free the PC version from the shackles of console resolutions. DF even mentioned it in the article: the art in TW2 was created with much bigger resolutions in mind than 720p, and the post processing AA solution yields far more pleasing results at higher resolutions as well.

Regardless of that, lighting can change the entire look of a game as a whole.

 

[helio]

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/122/75455870.jpg
Sub HD 672p.

http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/1224/thewitcher2pixel.png
Looks like 15/15

 

[Sigfried1977]

Regardless of that, lighting can change the entire look of a game as a whole.

Your point? Technically lighting is more impressive on PC as well. Whether you prefer one over the other is entirely subjective.

 

[2real4tv]

360 version is a little to flat and the PC has that yellow tint I hate in some scenes. Overall the PC version looks alot better maybe because the 360 is missing some effects...also noticed the tone mapping(I think that what it is called) at least in scene where he walks out the tent looks wierd on the 360 version.

fake edit: Also the HDR highlights/bloom looks alot better in the PC version from looking at that vid, might be a little overdone though.

 

[Reiko]

Your point? Technically lighting is more impressive on PC as well. Whether you prefer one over the other is entirely subjective.

Lighting looks more natural on console. And I'm pretty sure once it rolls unto the PC version you'll agree with me there too.

 

[Sigfried1977]

At least the lighting in the game's prologue looks anything but more natural on the 360. Why would the light of a torch in a red tent paint the characters in a pale and cold blue-reddish tint? As soon as you leave the tent the difference becomes even bigger.

Seriously, where in the hell does the lighting look better on the 360 in that video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDQbJ6oQznw

Besides, this still has precisely zero things to do with my post.

 

[Reiko]

At least the lighting in the game's prologue looks anything but more natural on the 360. Why would the light of a torch in a red tent paint the characters in a pale and cold blue-reddish tint? As soon as you leave the tent the difference becomes even bigger.

Seriously, where in the hell does the lighting look better on the 360 in that video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDQbJ6oQznw

Besides, this still has precisely zero things to do with my post.

Your post is asking why an amazing port on ancient hardware is being compared to a game running on up to date hardware. It just shows how good the programmers are. Besides, the Witcher 2 will be child's play once The Witcher 3 rolls out on more powerful consoles.

 

[Sigfried1977]

That was not the point of my post at all. I was wondering why you'd ignore one of the biggest advantages of the PC version when doing such a comparison. Unlike most multi-platform games, TW2 actually shines when you crank up the resolution beyond the 720p barrier. At 720p or below, much of the core art's fidelity is lost in the shimmering depths of pixel limbo.
It's like judging the quality of a DVD and a Blu-Ray movie transfer by their appearance on and old interlaced SDTV.

 

[Jedi2016]

I don't really get that, either. I get that people "know" about the higher resolutions PCs are capable of, but sometimes it would be nice to actually SEE that difference, especially on a game that really benefits from it. The real tells are the ones that upscale the console version to the same resolution as the PC shots.. those are really night and day, and give you more an idea of how much they can cut back on consoles and no one will notice.

 

[Turok]

I still don't see the point in comparing the two Witcher II versions unless you free the PC version from the shackles of console resolutions. DF even mentioned it in the article: the art in TW2 was created with much bigger resolutions in mind than 720p, and the post processing AA solution yields far more pleasing results at higher resolutions as well.

In comparing art assets, I think displaying both of them at similar resolutions helps in spotting differences much easier. Just take a look at this comparison. The differences are readily apparent.

http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/7/5/1/4/2/360_texturedowngrade.png
http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/7/5/1/4/2/PC_texturedowngrade.png

 

[Reiko]

In comparing art assets, I think displaying both of them at similar resolutions helps in spotting differences much easier. Just take a look at this comparison. The differences are readily apparent.

http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/7/5/1/4/2/360_texturedowngrade.png
http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/7/5/1/4/2/PC_texturedowngrade.png

I do wonder about that. I've seen better textures in Gears 3 (comparing console version).

Aging hardware so something had to go for Witcher 2's fidelity.

 

[kagemaru]

I do wonder about that. I've seen better textures in Gears 3 (comparing console version).

Aging hardware so something had to go for Witcher 2's fidelity.

I haven't played the witcher 2 yet, but I'm going to guess that it has larger environments than Gears 3. So I'm not sure we should expect the same level of fidelity with resources being more stretched out in Witcher 2.

 

[nightshade]

Well the play area isn't particularly big, it has a hub world design but even then it's smaller compared to something like Deus Ex Human revolution (which wasn't really that big in the first place). The console version has a mini loading screen for almost everything, enter a tavern loading, open almost any door and you are greeted by loading. Quite a lot of times you'll be going into caves for quests and once you enter these caves there's no going back unless you finish the quest by moving forwards. Gears 3 at any given time usually has a larger play area, but that's a different game running on a different engine. While Gears 3 pre bakes a lot of things, Witcher 2 renders everything in real time and even has a TOD cycle.

 

[HokutoNoKen]

Tech Analysis: Trials Evolution

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-trials-evolution-tech-analysis

/ Ken

 

[assurdum]

A question: what's going on to DF face off updating this year? I mean, I know there aren't big brand from a long time but lack of quantity & variety compared to the past years leave me so sad, I'm tired to watch LoT for a recent face off...

 

[joker454]

A question: what's going on to DF face off updating this year? I mean, I know there aren't big brand from a long time but lack of quantity & variety compared to the past years leave me so sad, I'm tired to watch LoT for a recent face off...

Maybe because at this point comparing 7 year old consoles is like comparing a Ford Pinto to a Mercury Maverick, where at the end of the day both are just so damn old does it even matter much anymore?

 

[Gitaroo]

exactly, just comparison single note worthy title is enough, just hope they can do it quicker though because it help some ppl to decide which version to get.

 

[N_B]

Maybe because at this point comparing 7 year old consoles is like comparing a Ford Pinto to a Mercury Maverick, where at the end of the day both are just so damn old does it even matter much anymore?

Plenty of games are still coming out, and people still want to know which version to purchase.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Plenty of games are still coming out, and people still want to know which version to purchase.

Whichever console they own. If they own both, whichever their friends will be playing on. If that makes no difference, whichever controller they prefer. If the only deciding factor is which version runs better, I thought the better performer when it was by a clear margin was invariably XB360, except for obviosuly PS3-led titles maybe (Japanese developed). Otherwise the differences were typically small enough not to make a great deal of difference. No?